Monday: Weekend deadlock over taxes to continue in Senate

The Senate meets at 2 p.m., and at 5:30 p.m. is expected to hold a cloture vote on S. 1323, a sense of the Senate bill expressing support for raising taxes on people who earn $1 million or more a year.

The vote comes just hours after the White House and House Republicans announced that they remain deeply split over whether taxes should be a part of any debt-ceiling solution. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Sunday said Republicans can't support a Democratic proposal to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion deal because that plan involves at least $1 trillion in tax increases.

The two sides are still meeting, which indicates there is hope they can reach an agreement by Aug. 2 (although a short-term debt-ceiling extension becomes more likely with every passing day). However, the Republican objection to new taxes makes it far more likely that the parties will reach a deal to shrink the deficit by something less than $4 trillion, and do so without a tax revenue component.

The Senate vote today will likely reflect the split between the parties — Senate Republicans supported a motion to take up S. 1323 last week, but did so with the expectation of voting against it at some point, to show their opposition to tax hikes. If Republicans decide to shoot down the proposal today, they can easily sink it with 47 "no" votes, since the bill needs 60 votes for cloture.

The debate could also spill over into the House on Monday; members meet at noon for speeches. Then, at 2 p.m., the House will begin actual legislative work on two bills.

The first is H.R. 2354, the Energy and Water Appropriations Act. Amendments to this bill are expected today.

The House also looks at H.R. 2417, the Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB) Act, which would eliminate federal standards on light bulbs that Republicans have mocked as a prime example of government overreach.

The BULB Act will be considered under a suspension of House rules, which means it will require support from two-thirds of voting members. This bill has the possibility of failing today: Republicans have already brought up a few suspension bills that have failed due to lack of support from Democrats.